Benjamin Doon and the triangle of infinity

Benjamin Doon is out of sorts, out of time and quite frankly, in the wrong place altogether. To be clear, the wrong dimension in fact. All this has left him feeling rather discombobulated, and he needs your help.

Meet Benjamin, a new companion featuring:

• Over 1,900 lines of fun and entertaining dialogue.
• A unique combat mechanic *
• Faction quest awareness.
• and… well, the rest you’ll have to discover for yourself.

Ben does not belong in the universe of Starfield and he is not sure how to get back to his own: Skyrim. Obviously, everything and everyone in Starfield will either initially confuse him or eventually annoy him, so it’s your job to show him what’s out there. You never know, eventually he may grow accustomed to the place.

How to start

You can find a very confused and concerned Ben in Akila city, in front of The Rock. You can’t miss him, he’s practically naked. I recommend sorting that with some priority, as no one will appreciate a wrinkly old man running about in his underwear.

How to play

Ben is a custom companion with a few insights about the new dimension he finds himself in. However, initially, like anyone, he is utterly confused about everything. So just take him along with you and his confidence will grow.

Combat

There’s no getting around the fact that as a stranger to the dimension of Starfield, Ben will be initially terrified of combat with weapons and enemies he can’t comprehend. In view of this, Ben has a unique combat mechanic that will increase his confidence as he grows familiar with fighting . So while he may start as an utter coward who runs away from the first sign of trouble, just give him a little time. He will grow eventually.

Tips and tricks

Ben has nothing! - That's right. Not only does he have no clothes, he doesn't have any weapons either. Additionally, the game will provide him with a spacesuit if needed, but often he gets put in a helmet where you can't see his face. You may want to consider providing him these things yourself.

Runaway!!! - As pointed out above, Ben is a little nervous to begin with. In cities, this isn't as bad an issue, but during his initial combat encounters he will run away. Tip: Turn on the Triangle of infinity quest to see exactly where he's run off to.

Patience is a virtue - Often Ben will try to engage with you about things that interest him. Be patient and hear him out, as skipping might mean you miss something important.

Don't try, just play! - Ben is designed to follow you and gradually build his confidence (and then some) but that isn't your objective. I want you just to take him with you. Do not worry about him or completing anything related to him (you'll see). Just be, just play.

FAQS

Q: Can I have other followers as well as Ben? A: Of course you can. Ben is custom. The downside of this is that you can't assign him to your crew*. But why would you? He is a stranger to the Starfield dimension. What perks could he possibly have? he knows nothing.

Q: What perks does he have? A: See previous

Q: Why would I want an elderly follower in my game? A: Why wouldn't you? Life is about gaining knowledge through experience. The elderly have a lot of wisdom to share (disclaimer: Not neccessarily true in Ben's case).

Q: Is Ben marriable? A: Woah! You changed your tune. Erm, I'd like to say No, but I'll not say Never. May be in future as it would be very funny to hear Ben complaining after sharing a bed.

Q: Can Ben join my crew?* A: At a certain point (not giving away spoilers here) you will have the option to have Ben join your crew. However, if you choose this option, you will no longer be able to have him alongside another game follower.

Q: Is Ben quest aware? A: Ben is currently aware of Crimson and Freestar with a pinch of UC too. I aim to finish the latter and possibly Ryujin by the next update.

Background

For those who may be familiar with the Skyrim version of Ben, let’s talk about the two things you’re probably wondering about, how can he be in Starfield and what’s with his face?

Let’s start with the latter. When it comes to face models, Skyrim and Starfield are vastly different. There isn’t an elder race in Starfield, just geometries and skin tones. I have done my best to capture Ben and quite frankly after 4 months of creating him for Starfield, I’ve grown quite used to his face.

So finally, how can Ben be in Starfield? To answer this I’ll start at the beginning. Benjamin Doon was originally a creation from my never released quest story: Azura’s Folly in 2013. I actually got quite far with the quest but had to stop when I met a brick wall due to my limited skills at the time. And so, to build my skills I decided to dissect Ben from the quest and place him inside his very own follower quest (I did the same later for Mharphin too). In this quest I hinted that something traumatic had happened to Ben and that “this wasn’t their time”. These were all direct hints to events from the original quest. Now let’s get back to that original quest for further explanation to the Starfield question. In Azura’s Folly there’s a point in the storyline where Ben, the player and Mharphin are all separated whilst escaping The Inquisition (as seen and heard in the Mharphin follower mod). The separated Mharphin instance is what we meet in my Mharphin follower creation, whereas (now) the separated Benjamin instance is who we now meet in Starfield.

Make sense? I hope so. If it doesn’t, let’s just all suspend our disbelief and try to ignore it and have some fun.

Thank you

Skinnytecboy

Big thank you to the following for their consistant support:

Nexussfire - For support and testing. Unoctium - For continual support Mentha - For proof reading and grammar checks (any remaining errors are mine alone) Elianora - For wonderful screenshots. The BGS Creation Team and my fellow VC